Revenge
by kdross42
Summary: Takes place at the end of the series 2 finale, after Marian and Carter's deaths but before their funerals.  What happened to Carter; the wound didn't kill him instantly, so he had time to say his goodbyes to the one person that mattered most...


"Shae, come quickly. It's Carter."  
>My world came crashing down around me in an instant. The sword I had been cleaning clattered to the floor, and before I could even think I was on my feet and sprinting past the courier. My legs flew me through our camp in a blur, and somehow I ended up at King Richard's personal tent. The guard opened the tent flap as he saw me approaching, allowing me to barrel in without slowing, only coming to a stop when I crashed into the King himself. He stumbled back a step, wincing, but held me upright with one strong arm. The other was in a sling, and blood was leaking into a bandage wrapped around his shoulder.<br>"What happened?" I asked breathlessly.  
>"Shae," the King said, his voice full of pain. "It's not good. He's asking for you."<br>"Where?" I asked, trying to fight against the tightening in my chest.  
>The King kept his grip on my arm and pulled me back further into the tent and through another flap. This new room, an infirmary, I realized, was more crowded: a man knelt by a woman's still form, weeping, while four more men and another woman formed a half circle around him, offering words and gestures of kindness. My eyes swept past them until they landed on the red-headed form on the far side of the tent. I broke away from the king, crossing the space between us in three quick strides. My mind took in the situation clinically as I knelt down beside him; noting the location of the stab wound to his abdomen, the rate of the blood seeping out of his body, the pale, ashy pallor of his skin. All the while, my heart felt as though it was being ripped out of my chest, because after years of fighting in the Crusades I knew that there was no chance against a wound such as this one.<br>"Carter," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. Those blue eyes fluttered open, struggling for a moment before focusing on me.  
>"You came," he said, his voice that had once been so strong and deep coming out weak and thready.<br>"Course I did," I scoffed, trying to keep my voice light. "What'd you do this for, going off and getting hurt without me?"  
>A small smile played across his lips. "Sorry." He gasped painfully, one hand moving towards his wound as his abdomen clenched in a spasm. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.<br>"It's alright." I said. "I forgive you." Tears began to leak out of my eyes for this man; a man who had once been so strong and handsome, a man whom I had loved, who was now clinging to life by sheer will power alone.  
>Carter's free hand came up and brushed the tears off of my cheek shakily. "Shae," he whispered. "No, Shae, don't cry." The tenderness in his voice made me bite down on a sob that wracked my body.<br>"I'm not crying," I said when I had regained enough of my composure. "I'm-"  
>:Laughing out of the wrong side of your face," Carter finished for me, pushing a stray strand of hair into place behind my ear. I let out a breath in what could have passed for a laugh, took his hand from my face and brought it back down to where I held the other, trying to save his strength, to prolong the inevitable for a few more moments.<br>"Yeah," I agreed, "laughing out of the wrong side of my face."  
>"That's my girl," he said, closing his eyes.<br>"Carter," I sobbed. "Don't you dare leave me."  
>His eyes opened again slightly, but they were clouded with pain.<br>"It's time, Shae," he breathed, his words ragged and labored.  
>"I know." The tears poured out freely now.<br>"I love you." Quieter, weaker, but still powerful.  
>"I know. I love you, too." Bend down, a kiss on the forehead, then another, ever so softly, on the lips.<p>

A breath, in, out. Then another. A rattling cough that brought blood to his lips. More muttered words of love and comfort. Squeeze his hands; I'm still here. I won't leave. A breath, in, out. A heartbeat. A gasp of air, in, out.

Nothing. Gone.

Pain. Anger. Sorrow. Regret. Grief. Agony. Denial. Bargaining. Acceptance. Pain. Sorrow. Love. Confusion. Emptiness. Loneliness. Rage. Pain.

Revenge.

**Author's Note: Just finished watching BBC's Robin Hood, and now I have so many ideas flying through my head! Unfortunately, I am super busy this semester; I'm writing my senior thesis and my rowing team just got promoted to Division I, so I probably won't have much time to write it all down. So for now, here's this. I do the beginnings of a story planned around this scene, so be on the lookout for more of Shae in the future!**

**Also, I don't own any of these characters except Shae.**


End file.
